CRIF, the umbrella representative group of the French Jewish community has called on its ''American friends'' to fight against the dissemination of Jew-hatred on the internet, in an appeal published in the New York Times.
‘’For French Jews this battle is vital. We can neither fight nor win it without you,’’ CRIF’s president Roger Cukierman wrote.
‘’On the Internet anti-Semitic ravings, rooted in centuries-old myths (the Rich Jew, the Powerful Jew, etc.) go unchecked. On the Internet disparagement and resentment spread like a virus. On the Internet jihadist groups recruit their combatants under the cowardly cover of anonymity,’’ he stressed.
He added : ‘’On Google, two clicks bring to the screen conspiracy theories, according to which there were no Jews ever killed in Auschwitz, nor planes in the sky on September 11th in New York, nor terrorist attacks in Paris in January 2015. On YouTube, typing a single keyword triggers anti-Semitic rants of extraordinary violence. On Twitter, thousands of times a day, one sees the Protocols of the Elders of Zion republished in 140-character versions. On Facebook, invitations with time and place go out for “Jew Bashing.” And such horror gets “liked” with impunity. ‘’
Cukierman noted that all these Internet service providers, search engines, video-hosting services are American. ‘’They are subject to American laws. We need the United States; we need you to convince them to set a limit to this swarm of hate. ‘’While acknowledging that freedom of speech is a core American value through the First Amendment, ‘’freedom of speech is not freedom to hate.’’ ‘’ It is not a human right to incite murder. On the Internet, ways have been found to fight and ban child pornography, likewise, anti-Semitism must be identified and beaten back,’’ Cukierman wrote.